Fortitude
by eyecanread
Summary: Tying up loose ends after the show's finale. The trek of one of the characters. Oneshot. Please R&R!


**A/N - I wrote this for a contest on DeviantArt. The prompt was 'Tying Up Loose Ends' in the Avatar world after the finale. I wish something like this had happened, or we at least could of had a little mention of it.  
I hope you enjoy!**

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He had a singular purpose. He knew his task, and was willing and able to complete it. The message he carried had to reach its destination. It had been entrusted to his care by the soft and warm hands that had penned it. The message meant reconciliation and peace, but he knew not the contents of the message, only the importance of it. He stayed his course, and even though the elements and wild beasts tried to deter him, he pressed on.

Finally a grand home came into view and his heart soared. It was his destination.

He didn't receive a warm welcome there, but neither was he turned away. With the message safely delivered he took some time to revive. He woke a few mornings later ready to be on his way again. He had a desire to go home, back to his family. They were a different sort of lot, but they loved him and that was all he really cared about.

Whether it was because he had pleasant thoughts of home, or was now relieved of the troubling burden of the message; the trip seemed only half as hard on the return. On he pressed until he landed at a familiar shore.

When he attained the location he had parted from his family, they were nowhere to be found! He stood dazed, looking this way and that, but his odd little family was gone. He hung his head low. Why had they pressed on?

Determined to find them he took off again. He was sure it had been only out of dire need that they had left without him. His keen eyes picked up the faint trail and he was off like a shot.

All at once he was at a cliff. He sat on a rock to think of what to do next. White fluffy creatures grazed around him but he took little notice. His gaze drifted down the cliffside where he could see a crude boat dock.

Boats! They had gone out onto the water. His heart sank a little at the vastness of the waters. On the breeze a faint whiff of smoke came to him. He turned his head to get a better sense of where it was coming from. To his left he could barely see a dark grey cloud on the horizon. He leapt from the rock; his family was surely at the base of the smoke.

He was greatly fatigued when he reached his destination so he found a safe place to sleep until morning's light. The next day he looked and looked but didn't find them. Depression threatened to creep in. Was his cause hopeless? What now? What direction had his family gone?

A thought came to him like a flash of light. Maybe his family was looking for him too! Not knowing where he was, they may have returned to the last place they knew he had been. As soon as he was able, he turned his head back across the water. He had to get back to that grand house he'd left behind so many days ago.

That night he thankfully found a small rock to cling to for shelter. He slept fitfully that night in the surf. The journey continued in that manner two more days and nights. On the third day he knew if he didn't find substantial land and food soon he would perish.

Then something on the horizon caught his eye. It appeared to be a small island. He quickened his pace and in his delirium the island seemed to come to meet him. Stricken with hunger and weariness he flung himself onto a patch of grass near the water's edge. The sleep of the dead gripped him and he dropped into unconsciousness.

He had no idea how long he'd been asleep but when he awoke he felt much more rested. He got up and began to search for food. The island was densely foliated and was plentiful in berries and protein-rich insects. (Hey, don't knock them unless you try them! XD) In no time he felt like his old self.

His next step was to get his bearings, and when he looked from the island he could see a landmass nearby. Without a second thought he sprang from the small but welcoming island, ready to resume his quest. He wasn't sure exactly where he was but he could feel he was much closer to his destination.

He quickly became distracted by an ominous stillness going on around him. It was as if the whole world was waiting for something. He paused, alert to possible danger. For some time he sat on a rock watching and listening.

All of a sudden the stillness was broken by the sounds of a tremendous roaring. Waves and waves of heat came at him from seemingly all sides. He climbed as high as he could and rested on a stone pillar. What he saw from that vantage point terrified him.

It appeared to his eyes that the whole world was on fire. He looked behind him and birds of all kinds were fleeing. He looked below and all manner of creatures were running to save their lives from the inferno.

Suddenly amongst the chaos he heard a voice he recognized. Fighting against all instincts to run, he searched in the direction of the voice's emanation.

All around there seemed to be a battle raging between great metal birds! He heard the voice again and pressed on. As he drew closer, the flash of a steel-blue object falling distracted him. It was unlike all the other pieces of falling metal debris surrounding him; it seemed familiar to him. He knew it was important.

As he went to investigate he was almost struck by a falling sword. He looked back and saw that this too was familiar. He proceeded to gather the first object and place it, with great difficulty, into the pack on his back.

The sword was harder to collect because by that time it had fallen to earth and was hard to make out amongst the charred and smoldering ground. When he finally located it he discovered it to be quite heavy, but was able to drag it up to the top of a stone pyre. From that high point he surveyed his surroundings.

Everywhere he looked was black. Small fires were still burning but the battle had ceased. Amazed, he watched as the sea seemed to spread like cooling and soothing fingers over the land. On his perch he knew he was safe from the water, and soon he watched it return from whence it came.

He had lost the voice. Sadly, he knew he had to press on from that desolate place.

Many days later, exhausted but happy, he arrived once more at the grand house. He was so tired he couldn't move or make a sound. He collapsed on their doorstep and passed out.

When he opened his eyes, he thought perhaps he had died. Surrounding him and holding him were his family! The looks on their faces were of joy and relief mixed with wonder.

Sokka looked into the eyes of the traveler resting in his arms. "I wish you could talk. How did you know we were here? And to bring me back Boomerang and Space Sword!" Words failed the blue-eyed warrior as great tears threatened his vision. "You're home, Buddy", he said as he hugged the bird close.

Hawky closed his eyes and nuzzled his beak closer to Sokka's chest.

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**A/N - If you realized who this was about in the first paragraph, or where surprised at the end, I'm just glad you read it. XD Please let me know what you think, good or bad!**


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